I had the typical desert climate problem the day I went to the Auto Zone on Camelback and 3rd Street in Phoenix: sluggish battery. While the car would still start, I decided to get the battery replaced rather than call AAA. I'm not saying anything bad about AAA because when you're stranded it's tip-top. But when your car will still start and you're confident the battery is going, I recommend driving straight to Auto Zone. It's much less expensive than AAA and you'll wait less. When I got to Auto Zone I was the fourth person that day (and it was only 10 AM) to need battery replacement. I have a 2003 VW Passat which means you've got to peel off a cowl (I learned this is the proper term by reading the directions), remove a plastic piece that covers the battery and then figure out how to wedge the big European-sized battery out. The store manager, Chris, was very helpful. He did not act at all impatient that it took longer to change out my battery, even though customers were beginning to stack up by the time we finished. The whole process, including replacing the cabin air filter, took less than half an hour.